The Tangled Lanes of Amity
by Darkyse
Summary: AU  How far are you willing to go to protect a friend's secret? Is it worth it, even though you might lose yourself in the process? A story of courage in the face of the unknown and unexpected...  it involves all main characters
1. Escaping the confinement

**The tangled lanes of amity**

Disclaimer—First of all I do not own in any way One Tree Hill and its characters. If I did, my ideas would be on screen and not here :P.

Second of all, I finally decided to post an OTH fic, just to see how my ideas fit into your minds and hearts. So… read, have fun [or not:)) it's up to you] and tell me what you think.

(This is a complete AU…)

**Chapter I- Escaping the confinement**

_The unknown scares the majority of people, those who make themselves sick with worry and about what's to come. If you think that you can be above all that you're wrong. No matter how many times you said "nothing is going to beat me now, I've seen it all", guess again. Fear lies in the unknown, and fear makes people act in the most various ways. We are all hostages of fate, and the next years, months or seconds cannot be predicted. All that remains for you to do is wait, pray and fight…_

_The ghostly pac__e of the world seems to be moving forward without looking back. It feels no remorse, it has already passed and left you standing helpless, without anything to hang on to. The future is still unwritten and the opportunities may lay ahead, but only a sheer strength of will can make you worthy again. If you fail, you pick yourself up and try again…_

She didn't know what went wrong, everything was calculated in its smallest details. It was supposed to work, and yet here they were, trapped , at the mercy of the very people they were trying to bring down. The only thing she could think of was a way out and fast, because otherwise all the hard work that was put into this plan was for nothing and Peyton couldn't allow that. The person they were protecting was too valuable for them to give up now, so she made herself a promise. They were going to get out of here and they were going to finish what they started, even if it was the last thing they'll do.

She looked over at her best friend, who looked so peaceful, she had a nasty cut under her right eye. She knew how that felt she had one of those too.

A damn cliché. Every bad guy had some massive ring on their finger, and of course they will take advantage of it only to increase the level of pain.

That ring left its palpable marks all over her body, so everything she was thinking was valid. God, she should really find another topic to stay awake. The way in which their attackers used their rings to inflict pain was not a happy thought. She chuckled even though this situation was far from laughable.

They were tied down with their backs against the wall. It was a dark room, just a few rays of sun were managing to make their way through. It was a sickening silence, and it drove Peyton mad, she tried to break free from her restraints but it was hopeless. Then she moved over to her best friend and tried the same. Not a frickin' chance, the chains were too much for a normal human being to escape from them. They needed the key, and on that note, she returned to her position and supported her head against the cold wall.

"Well…this sucks". Peyton heard the low voice of her best friend, who opened her eyes and squinted.

"Tell me about it". Peyton responded "How are you feeling?"

"Question of the year." Brooke sighted. "Not so good. You?"

"Let's just assume it's not pretty ".

"I hate this silence. It's like the perfect atmosphere for an unexpected and I would say, rather painful moment in the near future". Brooke tried to smile, but failed, very aware of the truthfulness of her statement.

"Yeah…been there, done that" Peyton shifted so that her injured side wasn't feeling any additional pressure.

"What do you mean? Peyton, did something happen after I blacked out?" She could tell she didn't need to ask from the uneven breaths and small whimpers of her best friend.

"Let's just say I didn't go down without a fight. You would be surprised at what a 120 pounds girl can do". She laughed slightly, obviously in pain. She didn't want to worry Brooke any further, so she kept her pain to herself, at least for now.

"This is not funny, Peyton. I know you better than anyone, and I know when you're closing off. Don't be like that, especially not now, when we have to stick together." Brooke pleaded, but she knew how her friend's stubbornness was a main flaw, and although she learned over the years how to maneuver her way around that, there were times when Peyton added even more walls, it was never ending …

"You think I don't know that, Brooke? I am well aware of the gravity of our situation. Damn it, I felt the gravity of our situation. Is it so wrong of me to try and shield you from all these? You have no idea how helpless I feel right now." Peyton let out a frustrated rant, while shifting again.

"This is not your fault, you didn't put us here. I feel just as powerless as you." Brooke sighted "All I'm saying is that under these circumstances the worst thing we can do is feel guilty, because that feeling will be the barrier between us and finding a way out of here." She closed her eyes and hoped she got through her best friend.

"When did you get so elevated?"Peyton smiled and her guard was slowly starting to come down, one layer at a time.

"What can I say, being tied up, beaten and dehydrated sure has a mode of getting out the best in people" She laughed. "Seriously, P. what happened?"It was now or never, she had to know what these bastards have done.

"After you fainted, I couldn't get my eyes to shut. I kept staying awake and watching over you, but then they walked in and planned on continuing the job on us. In that that moment I thanked God that you weren't awake. They pulled me outside, and that ugly leader of them, Mitch, I guess it's his name, proved to himself what a fine man he could be, by beating a tied up girl. I think he is really proud of him right now". She tried to be sarcastic, but in a way it felt good to let everything out.

"I can't believe this, I am so sorry Peyton. I should have fought harder or at least stay awake. I swear to God we'll make them pay. They hurt too many people already, and seeing you like this is only enraging me even more." In fact Brooke was scared, she was scared for herself, she was scared for her best friend and she was scared for the people they were trying to protect, but she was going to fight until the very end for their cause.

"Don't you dare apologies for anything, I'm glad that at least one of us is lucid enough to think clear." Peyton assured her friend, while coughing a few times."Brooke, I only saw 6, I don't know how much more there are…"

"This is just perfect" Brooke closed her eyes and dared to ask a question, even though she felt bad for it. "P, did you say anything?" Peyton looked at her questionably "I mean did you tell them about…"

"How can you ask me that Brooke, I would never let anything slip my mouth, not after everything we promised ourselves until now. I would rather die than do that and you know it, you would do the same!" Peyton felt herself without breath.

"Easy buddy, try and calm down, please. I didn't mean it like that, it's just there only so much a person can withstand 'til she reaches a breaking point. Next time I will stick a foot up my mouth". Brooke closed her eyes silently apologizing.

After gaining her breath Peyton crawled next to Brooke and rested her head on her shoulder. Brooke was surprised by that action, but she knew that was her friend's way of telling her there was no harm done by the previous conversation. Brooke's head shot up when she heard footsteps approaching the door. She braced herself for what was about to come.

The massive steel door opened to reveal 3 men, the first one was bald and had an eagle tattoo'ed on his neck and also some pretty painful marks on his face. She smiled 'yeah a 120 pounds girl can really do some damage'. The other 2 were few inches smaller, dressed in leather jackets, each carrying a gun.

"I'd say it's about time you woke up, you wouldn't want your friend to have all the fun now would you?" He grinned and made his way towards the girls. "I'll be frank with you, you're starting to piss me off a lot. I mean how hard can it be to respond to my questions?" He pulled his gun and aimed it between Brooke's eyes. She swallowed hard, but she kept her eyes on the gun. If he was going to shoot her than so be it. There was nothing much she could do right now.

"You're not going to kill us." Peyton spoke softly for the first time, keeping her eyes closed.

"Listen, honey, I can kill you and I am going to do that unless you give some fucking answers" He growled, while pushing the gun further into Brooke's forehead. She let out a small whimper. Peyton opened her eyes and tried to sit herself straight.

"I you want answers I'll give you answers, but first you have to let her go…" Peyton had no clue what she was doing, but it beat having her best friend killed. "I'll stay here and after I feel that she is safe I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Peyton, what the hell are you doing? Shut up!" Brooke was confused, and right now she couldn't think of a possible plan her friend had. She knew that Peyton would do everything to get her best friend out of here, but not at the expense of herself.

"No, Brooke this has gone too far, we can't keep risking everything for a lost cause" Peyton was bluffing the best way she could, hopefully she would be believed. "This is the best for everyone. Look, just let her go and I'll stay here. I promise there are no tricks, I'm not in any position to do that right now" She stopped for a second to catch her breath, her broken ribs made this communication thingy they had going on pretty difficult. "I know you're worried that she will tell the police where we are, you can blindfold her and escort her out of here. You will leave her next to some sort of civilization and then your men can leave. You will give her a phone, after she tells me she's safe, you will find out what you're seeking."

"What can I say, sweetheart, I am not a very patient man and neither are my bosses, so if this deal means we'll get what we want then so be it. I can make this work if you make it work too. Is not you we're after." He got up are dragged Peyton along with him, the sudden movement made some pain grimaces appear on her face. She breathed hard and tried to keep her eyes open. "Take the other one" He instructed one of the other two to get Brooke.

They made their way into the backyard, where he released the chains around their hands. Brooke couldn't figure out what was Peyton's plan, and she kept her gaze on her. Her friend was obviously thinking at the next move. She looked around, besides the 3 who came in earlier there was no one in sight. It was now or never. Peyton pulled out a small knife she managed to snatch during her early fight from Mitch, from her back pocket and stabbed him near the heart, but nor killing him. In the spur of the moment, Peyton launched herself forward, took his gun and shot the other one in the stomach. Brooke was stunned but took the gun from the dying man and hurried herself to her best friend.

"Brooke kill him!" Peyton shout. Brooke was at a loss, but she knew she had to do this. Mitch was dead within the second. She saw Peyton from the ground shot again at someone behind her. She turned and saw the third man going down. She broke from her astonishment and helped Peyton to her feet. They knew there were more but right now nobody came, that meant they weren't around at the time. They took the car keys from Mitch and jumped into the jeep.

After a few unsuccessful attempts to start the engine, they realized that time was not on their side and they couldn't risk a second capture. They grabbed 2 bottles of water from the car and started to run into the forest, without looking back. The guns were a small protection in a looming ambush, but they were better than nothing.

After 15 minutes of a constant running pace, Brooke suddenly stopped.

"What, what's wrong?"Peyton said barely breathing and looking at her friend.

"You are in no condition of continuing this, Peyton!"Brooke said concerned.

"Brooke we don't have time for this, we don't know if the reinforcements haven't already come."Peyton warned.

" you know I love you but we have to take a break. And if you don't want to do it for yourself, please do it for me."

"Brooke..."

"Five minutes. That's all I'm asking" Brooke pleaded. Peyton was being stubborn again, but she admitted defeat and nodded, collapsing on the ground, her back pinned to a huge oak tree. After taking a well deserved breather they continued their advancement into the forest. They were both exhausted and hungry and in an hour or so the remains of daylight were about to slowly leave the horizon.

"Brooke, we got to stop" Peyton managed to say "It's beginning to get really cold, we can't go on like this". Brooke knew she was right so she nodded and guided Peyton towards a couple of weird looking trees that could provide a small covering from the cold wind. Peyton's injuries were aggravating and she collapsed rather abruptly on the ground leaning on the tree. In a few moments she lost her battle with consciousness. Brooke was really worried, but at least her friend could rest for a while she tried to make a fire.

Yeah, easier said than done!

She didn't have anything to make a spark with. She collected a few dry branches and leaves and ripped one of her sleeves to create a bundle. She than created a fireboard from a piece of wood and after she tried rubbing a damn stick to create ember for a while now, she gave up. It was pointless.

"Very Bear Grylls of you" Brooke was startled and looked towards her friend.

"I think he would laugh his ass off seeing me like this" Brooke chuckled "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine…" Peyton closed her eyes.

"You're always fine. How about some truth for a change..." Brooke helped Peyton straighten herself as best as she could.

"I feel like crap" Peyton tried to smile, but it even that hurt.

"And I have no idea how to make you feel better..." Brooke whispered and lowered her head.

Suddenly, Peyton's tired hand lifted her chin and made her look directly into her eyes.

"Don't you dare say things like that. I won't allow you to. How long have you been trying to lit that fire?"

"About 30 minutes or so..."Brooke admitted "I'm not so good at rubbing stuff" She tried to laugh, and succeeded in making Peyton chuckle slightly.

"Who would have thought?" Peyton went along.

Suddenly, Brooke's eyes sparkled and a smile formed at the corner of the mouth."Peyton, I got it!"

"Well, I'm glad you did" She smiled "What did you get?"Brooke already started looking for something in the grass.

"Brooke?" She was clearly confused.

Brooke proudly lifted the gun and grinned widely.

"You're scaring me" Peyton admitted deadpanned.

"If we can take the gun powder out of the bullets we can have a better chance at starting a fire." She was already fidgeting with the gun, but was unsuccessful in locating something to release the bullets.

"Peyton, would you mind taking as look at it?" She asked with caution.

"There's a button somewhere on the handle. Give it" Peyton asked for the gun and after pressing the release button the charge came out with only 2 bullets in it.

" Great, thanks Peyt!" Brooke was beaming, but tried to hurry because the last rays of daylight were rapidly going away.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Peyton question was followed by a violent cough.

"Okay, now what?" Brooke looked questionably at Peyton.

"Don't ask me, it was your idea"

"Right." She surveyed the area and got up.

"Now, what are you doing?" She was feeling a bit out of the picture,, but she was anxious to see what her best friend was trying to do.

"I need 2 rocks, to make a spark" she said casually.

"I'm sure you do" Peyton smiled.

"Aha , almost there" Brooke said while hitting the 2 rocks a few times.

20 minutes later…

"This is getting ridiculous". Brooke sighted frustrated.

"I think you might be getting there" Peyton tried to stop smiling but she was failing miserably. She watched her best friend fiddle with two rocks in a desperate attempt to create a small spark.

"Don't mock me". Brooke shot her a look.

"You know, I think it will be better if we just exchange body heat this night" Peyton smiled apologetically to her very pissed off friend.

"I got this, Peyton" Brooke said angrily.

"Honey, you've already disintegrated 5 rocks" She smiled softly.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do". She yelled at her best friend.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean upset you" Peyton said apologetically "I only meant that we're both tired and we need some rest, honey. It will be morning in no time…"

"I'm an idiot, you don't have to apologies for anything, I didn't mean to snap like that…it's just, I need to do something, I feel like I'm letting you down". Tears were forming in her eyes as she let she stones slip from her hands.

"Come here…" Peyton patted the spot next to her. Brooke did what she was told and sat next to her best friend. "You help me so much just by being here, you don't have to do anything. This is not a situation that requires some equal participation from both parties". Peyton laughed. "If you know what I mean. We will get through this, just like we did so many times before. Just try to close your eyes and sleep for a while, I'll stand guard first".

"Are you up for that?"Futile question, but she asked anyway.

"I'm fine, B" Peyton reassured her.

"I'm starting to hate that word" Brooke spoke softly and smiled. "Ok, but make sure you wake me for my turn, got it?" Brooke looked serious.

"Yeah yeah…just sleep you knucklehead". Peyton kissed Brooke's hand and pulled her closer, careful not to injure her ribs any further.

She tried to organize her thoughts and plan their next move but the human mind is a very tricky place, ideas flow in so many directions. You just have to put them into a certain order so it can work in your advantage. It was hard for Peyton to fully concentrate right now, but one thing she knew for sure. They were motivated like hell, and they would continue protecting their friend until the outcome will be in favour of the good guys…

_That was it guys, first chapter. If anybody wants me to continue I will do so._

_Take care;)_


	2. A well deserved breather

_Thank you guys for reading…it means a lot. I know this is a rather new and daring idea, and I hope that you will grow fond of it. Without further ado I present you:_

Chapter 2- A well-deserved breather

_It is as simple as that, as obvious as that; the warmth and light of the sun in the morning can boost your spirit, put a smile on your face and give you some reassurance that the day that looms ahead is going to be alright and that you're going to be just fine._

_Can someone rely on that too much, so much that in a possible negative turn of events, they would feel depressed and alone, just because the sun refused to appear that morning. It may be silly, but it's true…_

_This is the most common example, people need something to hang on to when their lives seem to go of course, and usually they seek comfort in the most elementary things. It's easier that way, they don't expect much because they're afraid that they will be left with nothing and so they grab every little moment that can make them smile, even though sometimes those are miles away and they have to fight really hard to find them…_

Peyton woke up twitching her nose. Something was out of place, the air smelled different. She slowly opened her eyes to a rather small fire but she could feel the warmth gently coming into her body. She looked around but it was dead quiet, no birds, no animals, no Brooke.

She got up with some difficulty and started searching for her best friend, when suddenly a wave of dizziness came over her and wobbled a little bit until she felt two arms supporting her as she slid back on the ground, taking her head into her hands.

"Hey, easy there Peyt, one single and rather cold night, I might add, can't magically heal you" Brooke gently spoke while her eyes were painstakingly checking her friend's body.

"You don't give up do you?" Peyton mumbled from her position.

"What?" Brooke eyed her intensely.

"The fire" She lifted her head and smiled "You did it".

"Yeah, well what can I say, it sure beat sitting around all morning, bored out of my skull." She let out an exasperated laugh "This way I shot two birds with one stone" She flinched a little remembering yesterday's event "Figurately speaking, of course" She added sheepishly .

"This is great Brooke, we needed some small comfort" Peyton smiled and continued to look at the fire. "You didn't hear anything did you, this morning?"

"Nope, not a damn sound, it's like a whole forest was soundproof and we are being watched from afar, like rats in a lab" Brooke looked at the sky, it was rather dark even though the sun rose a couple hours ago, it didn't seemed to stick with them.

"I know, it's really strange". I have no idea where we could be.

"Here, take this" Brooke handed Peyton a handful of berries she picked earlier from her roundabout spree into the woods. Peyton eyed them suspiciously, not knowing if they were eatable or not, "Don't worry I ate them too and I'm still alive, aren't I?" Brooke assured her "Come on, we haven't eaten in 2 days, it's better than nothing ".

Peyton was starving, and right now they took what they could find. A long day was coming into view and they needed every drop of energy they could lay their hands on.

"Thanks, Brooke. You really were busy this morning". Peyton smiled and quickly swallowed the berries.

"I never liked the outdoors I was always scared of what lies in the wild, but you know sometimes the things you hate most always have a way of pushing themselves in your face. So I had to do the best with what I could find."

"Tell me about it, do you remember how scared I was when I took my drivers license? I couldn't move at all, and panic started rummaging through my body. Eventually I knew it had to be done, because otherwise I would have been doomed to take that damn bus everyday and frankly I didn't like that. In some twisted way we choose to face our fear just because the alternative would be worse"

"Yeah, well this is too much psychology for me this early, so any happy thoughts?" Brooke grinned making Peyton smile.

"Sorry, right now I got nothing" Peyton turned silent for a moment "Do you think they're all right? " She looked worriedly at her best friend.

"I'm sure they are, we didn't offered any clues to where they were, I think they'll be safe until we come back" Brooke assured her even though a small drop of doubt was lingering in her mind.

"We have to go, B. the sooner we find people the sooner we can get help" Peyton sat up, still clutching her side and went to put some dirt on the fire. Brooke nodded and followed her in her actions.

They kept a constant pace for almost 2 hours now, they were always on guard. They found a river, filled their bottles, and afterwards they just followed it hoping that near the water they were people too. Exhaustion was taking its toll on them and the lack of food made it even worse.

"Why the heck haven't we seen any traces of human life around here? No houses, no roads, no electric wires. It's like we're stranded in the middle of the frickin' Amazonian jungle. And even there must be some sort of villagers fishing or doing God knows what...Peyton I'm hungry!"Brooke complained dragging her feet on the hill.

"Nice transition from the Amazonian jungle to food, Brooke!"Peyton chuckled.

"Well at least those people are fishing, we can' do anything in the wild" Brooke told Peyton.

"Don't you dare lose now, you hear me Brooke. Besides I have a feeling that we're closer then we think even…" Peyton started, but stopped when she heard branches snapping. Her instinct immediately kicked in and she motioned for Brooke to keep quiet and follow her. They hid behind a thick row of bushes and carefully listened to find out if they have been found.

They could hear voices in the background, definitely belonging to men, but they couldn't figure out if they were friends or foes.

The sun threw some light on their followers and the sharp glow of their guns put them into panic mode. They could go up against them, but that was a big risk, one that she wasn't ready to take right now, so Peyton took Brooke's hand and led her to the bank of the river. The water was pretty deep but it seemed the only safe choice at the moment.

Brooke was very confused and scared at the same time, but she figured she should go with her best friend's plan, because she was way more experienced than her in these type of situations.

She tried to keep her voice low, although the prospect of swimming scared the hell out of her.

"Peyton I can't fucking swim and you know that. What the hell are we doing in the river?"Brooke panicked.

"Brooke, shut up. OK?We are not going to swim."The sound of human feet was now coming closer and closer.

"Then what ARE we doing in the river, genius?"

"When I say dunk, you dunk!"Peyton said calmly.

"You are out of your mind, my friend. I can't do this!" Brooke said firmly

"Oh you'd rather risk being shot than stay underwater for a few seconds?"Peyton asked sarcastically.

"Fine, I'll do it" Brooke said resigned.

"Alright, here goes nothing. One...Two...Three...DUNK!"Peyton said, while both taking deep breaths and emerging themselves underwater. They could hear chattering, and suddenly a huge splash was heard in the water. The girls watched as the male figures started to swim across the river. Peyton waited a few seconds until the silence surrounded the once again and she gave Brooke a thumbs up, a sign that they were safe and ready to go to the surface.

"Oh my God Peyton, I can't breath!" Brooke was freaking out and was making a lot of unnecessary noise.

"It's ok B., just take small breaths, inhale, exhale. It's going to be alright."Peyton calmed Brooke.

"Let's get out of this infected water, because you will be to blame if I get some sort of skin disease later" Brooke said splashing water all over her and reaching safe ground.

"Yeah ok, I'll keep that in mind. You should send me the bill, I'll pay for the medication."Peyton played her game.

"Ha ha, very funny, Peyton" Brooke stated.

"Come on...we need to head forward, before those monkeys figure out that we aren't on that side."Peyton started walking slowly.

After 3 more hours they finally reached a dirt road and moved along it hoping they could find someone to help them. Utterly beaten and tired they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. A gas station was at about 200m in front of them. A tall man of about 40 years old was making some repairs underneath a car.

"Excuse me, sir" Peyton started. The man emerged from under the vehicle and looked at them suspiciously. He saw the poor state in which these strangers were in, and immediately wondered what the hell happened to them. "Can you tell us where we are?"

The man was taken a little aback at the question, but he figured they were travelers that got stranded on their road trip. "You're in Renovo, honey."

"Renovo, okay…Which state?" The man furrowed his eyebrows and having even more question about these two newcomers.

"Pennsylvania. May I ask how did you get here, because you look disoriented as hell".

"It's complicated. Please, sir can you point us where the police station is located. It's urgent and we need to call somebody". Peyton pushed the matters, not even a little fazed at the man's confusion.

"I have a phone too you know, is right inside" the man offered but Peyton shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but we have to call from the station, I can't go into details right now, just please show us where to go". Peyton breathed with difficulty still keeping her hand over her injured ribs.

Gary, as his name tag read, felt something for these girls. Something told him that they were in big trouble, but also that it was a bigger picture here, one that he didn't want to know about and one that definitely the girls didn't want to reveal.

"Look, I can take you there. Just hop into my car, I have to meet somebody in town, anyway" He smiled and pointed to his truck.

"No, you don't, but this means a lot to us. Thank you very much". Brooke nodded gratefully. The man laughed slightly, called for someone to take his place until he got back, picked his jacket and climbed into the driver's seat. The girls followed him and they headed to the police station. The trip was short and silent, even more after Gary saw a gun coming out of Peyton's back. He first thought the worst, but there was something about them, that assured him they were the good guys caught in a very complicated situation.

After they got up, and thanked Gary for his efforts, they entered the police station. They walked to a young police officer, who appeared to be fresh out of the academy.

"Excuse us, we would like to speak to the sheriff, it's an urgent matter" Peyton said seriously in a rather demanding tone. They didn't have any time to spare.

"I'm sorry but he is busy right now. May I ask what does it concern?" The woman eyed them suspiciously. Just then another police officer started shouting at them.

"Put your hands up and get on your knees right now!" He drew his gun and pointed it to the girls. "I said now!" The man's hand was shaking bit when he saw that the women were armed, so he tried to reason with them, before they would suffer the consequences.

"Damn it, we don't have time for this" Peyton sighted exasperated. Brooke was shaking a bit, the fear of getting shot, added to the utter exhaustion put her on the verge of collapsing. "Brooke, do as they say for now, I'll sort this out in a minute" Peyton smiled a little and nodded toward her friend.

They got on their knees with their hands still up, while another officer took the pistols from their backs. "Hands behind your heads, now!"They did as they were told. Just then a man in his late fifties came out of his office with his gun in his hand, intrigued by all the commotion he was hearing.

"What the hell is going on here" He asked as he saw the two women kneeled down, and after he took a better look at them she could observe that they were worn out and in no position to do any harm to others.

"They came in here and demanded to talk to you, sir. I saw they were armed and we followed the procedure, sir." The young man explained to his boss.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" He asked them.

"Sir, we don't mean to cause any trouble, the guns are for our own protection. Please, we have to talk to you in private. It's a matter of life and death". Peyton tried to reason with him. He could hear the strain in her voice, but her tone indicated that they were serious and somehow he believed her.

"Get up and follow me. We'll go into my office" he showed them the way.

Brooke got up first and then helped Peyton, who was still hurting pretty bad from her previous clash with the bad guys. They walked into the sheriff's office while everyone was still skeptic about them.

"Sit down and explain. I am not a very patient man". He was still on his feet, hands on his desk, looking them directly in the eyes.

"My name is Peyton Sawyer. I'm a lieutenant with the New Jersey State Police. This is my friend, Brooke Davis, she is a civilian, who helped us with a delicate case for our Witness Protection Program. I had my mission: protect the family in cause and escort them safely to their new home. We were creating a distraction, with Brooke posing as the witness, while we took the real one to real location. Something went terribly wrong, and I failed to protect her." She looked apologetically towards her best friend."I saw them grabbing her, I called for back-up, but they were too far, so I had to do something. They were too many, I couldn't get Brooke out of there, I got hit pretty bad in the head, and that was the last thing I remember before I blacked out. We found ourselves in a dark room, apparently in a whole different state. They wanted information, but we couldn't give them anything. We managed to escape and after a day or so, we found your town" Peyton finished her story; they had to convince this man that they were telling the truth otherwise she couldn't phone her superiors to notice them about their situation.

"I believe there are a lot more to say about this, am I right? You just gave me the shortest version that you could come up with". He sighted and looked away. Even so, it was more information about a case than a local sheriff could put his head around. It was small town, except from the occasionally bar fights, or small car accidents, nothing much was really happening here.

"I can't tell you more about it, sir. I'm sorry, because they are lives at stake here and some pieces of information should remain unknown." Peyton explained calmly, silently apologizing to him.

"I have to say, you're a long way from home and if your story checks out I will help in anyway that I can, lieutenant. I will send a patrol car to search for the men that captured you. If they are still here we will find them."He inquired.

"Believe me, sir, they are not here anymore. If they didn't find us by now, they figured out we made it into town and they fled to warn their bosses. But you should send some officers to make some rounds into town, just for the safety of your citizens." Peyton was tired of this, she has to report in, fast. "Sir, I have to make that phone call to my superior officer. Can you provide me with a secure line?"

"Yeah, I can do that, it has barely been used anyway, I think it needs a revival" He smiled and gave Peyton the phone. He was amazed by these women, they didn't have more than 25-26 years old and here they were still fighting, after going through a terrible ordeal. They must have an ulterior motive for hanging on for so long, and he knew that the secret they were carrying was worthy of protection.

Peyton dialed the number and entered the code so that the call was directed straight to her boss's office.

"Sir, you have an urgent call on line 4"His secretary informed him quickly, excitement clearly visible in her voice

"Who is it, Rose?"He was intrigued by the tone of his secretary.

"You can find out for yourself, sir. Believe me, you'll be surprised."

He picked the phone and introduced himself, like always. "This is Major Dan Scott, head of the Intelligence Section, whom am I speaking to?"

"Sir, this is Lt. Peyton Sawyer…"He was a little taken aback but he rose from his chair and interrupted her.

"Lieutenant, where the hell are you? We thought you were both dead, we have been looking everywhere for you". The newly found notion that his officer was alive surprised him, not because he didn't think she was capable of taking care of herself and her friend, but because the last thing they knew about them was that they were in very strenuous situation, and the team had to choose between rescuing them and finishing their mission. It was a tough decision, but he decided that in spite of his fondness towards the women, the assignment came first.

"Sir, I believe you have been looking for us in the wrong state. Apparently, they took us to Pennsylvania, now we are in a small town which we managed to find after we escaped, Renovo I believe it's called." The sheriff nodded in approval. "We are in Sheriff Matthews office at the moment .You should send one of the troops here to investigate the place where we were kept, although I doubt you will find something useful there. They surely taken off after they lost us in the woods, they wouldn't risk a capture. They're a lot smarter than that. Peyton stopped for a second to catch her breath, she struggled to keep herself focused, when she felt Brooke's hand clutching her own.

"Lieutenant, are you alright, because from my end of the line you don't seem well at all." The Major immediately noticed that she wasn't in a great shape, not by a mile.

"I'm fine, sir, the damage isn't that bad." She tried to minimize the gravity of the situation, just like she always did.

"Do you know who you're talking to? I know you better than you think, Sawyer, so don't you dare give me that crap". He said in a rather demanding tone, being fully aware that it was the only way he could get the truth out of her.

Peyton sighted, she found the wrong person to lie to. "I suffered some injuries, mostly to my abdomen, I think I have a few cracked ribs also, but I can manage. Don't worry about me. Brooke is fine too, as well as can be expected …we're just tired sir" her stomach decided to make an entrance and growled a few times "…oh yeah, and really hungry" Both of the chuckled a bit.

"I will send an extraction team in the morning, because for now you need the rest. Take it easy and eat, that's an order." Dan was relieved they were ok, after they got captured he blamed himself. Apparently their well thought plan had some glitches. He didn't even have to ask if information was slipped, they would rather die than say anything. "Put the sheriff on the phone, lieutenant. I have to discuss some details with him".

"Sir, before I do that I need to ask you something" He knew what she was about to ask so he answered quickly.

"They're safe for now, lieutenant. Don't worry, we will figure this out one you get home.

"Yes, sir. We'll see you soon" Peyton handed the phone to the man in front of them and mouthed to her best friend a low 'they're ok', and Brooke smiled in relief.

The sheriff exchanged goodbyes with her superior officer and ended the conversation. "Ok, girls, I will take you a nearby motel, make sure you eat, and also I'll bring a doctor to check your wounds". They nodded gratefully. They found themselves 15 minutes later in a small, but cozy room. Brooke was engulfing the food, but made sure she left some for Peyton too, who was being treated by a very nice local doctor. They hoped to catch some sleep, until the rescue party would arrive.

After 30 minutes, Brooke was already snoring. Peyton smiled and closed her eyes, taking everything in. The made it out, they were going to get home, but she couldn't help but think that this was the easy part. She knew that in the period that was about to come, they had to rethink everything over again. But that was tomorrow's problem, for now they allowed themselves to rest…

_A/N: I managed to post this rather fast, but I can't guarantee that I will always do so. Sometimes nothing I write seems good enough, so it can take a long time before I am happy with what I've done :D._

_I also wanted to say that the other characters will be introduced in the next chapters, each having a rich background behind them. Everything will be explained, I promise._

_Take care, guys and have a great week._


	3. Good intentions, bad outcome

_Hey guys, chapter 3 is here. Being my first OTH story, I believed it wasn't going to be good enough, but your support means a lot to me, so thank you. ;)_

Chapter 3 - Good intentions, bad outcome

The first thing she felt was the cold air caressing her face. She opened her eyes and searched for the cause of it. Apparently the window had opened and wind was entering their room. She closed it and checked the watch on the radio: 6:34 am. She sighted and went to get a glass of water. She checked herself in the mirror, a butterfly bandage was covering the bruise near her left eye. She lifted her shirt, and she knew that black and blue marks were covering the whole lower area, but only some parts were visible, from underneath the tight wrap the doctor put around her ribs.

Ever since she's been a cop, she managed to collect more than few scars. During her first years, she would go head first into dangerous situations, not caring what could have happened to her, and even more, she thought nobody cared as well. Well, nobody except for the peaceful figure that was sleeping in the nearby bed.

They were 9 when they met; a combination that nobody gave a chance; the perky, bubbly girl and the sad and withdrawn one. What nobody could see in them, they saw in each other. Peyton figured out the sadness in Brooke's eyes, a sadness she covered up with a contrasting attitude. And Brooke knew that somewhere deep inside her, Peyton wanted to be happy, but she couldn't allow herself to, afraid of being let down.

They didn't meet at the playground, or at the ice cream store, or even at the amusement park…No, they met in an orphanage, both victims of negligence, both searching for something more, both in need of each other.

"Peyton?" Brooke came from behind her, rested her head on Peyton's shoulder and looked with her in the mirror.

"Hey! Morning!'" Peyton smiled and kissed the top of Brooke's head.

"No no, this is not morning. I can't see light outside, therefore there is no morning, therefore we should still be in the land of the "zzz's". Brooke dragged herself back in bed. Peyton turned, rested her back on the sink and smiled at her best friend. "What part of going back to sleep do you not comprehend, my dear friend?" Brooke squinted her eyes, and pointed to the bed next to her. Peyton let Brooke win this one and plunged into bed.

"I get that you are not a morning person, but believe me, this is pretty normal from my point of view."Peyton chuckled.

"I don't care. Sleep…"Brooke mumbled from her pillow "Shoo, I can't sleep with you awake. I can feel the dense quantity of thoughts going through you head right now, and I am too damn relaxed to think about that". Peyton laughed slightly. "I'm not kidding. Just go back to sleep". Brooke put the blanket over her head. Peyton figured two more hours of sleep couldn't hurt anyone, so she followed her best friend.

One hour later there was a knock on the door. Peyton immediately got up and moved went to open it. Brooke was still pulling the covers over her. The sheriff and another man came in sight,

"Good morning, girls. Sorry if we woke you, but the team has arrived." Matthews nodded towards the man next to him "This is Captain Mike Rogers, the officer in charge".

"Nice to meet you sir. Thank you for coming."Peyton extended her hand and formerly introduced herself. "I'm Lt. Peyton Sawyer, and that over there hidden under the covers is my friend Brooke Davis" She smiled, while Brooke mumbled a 'good morning".

"Pleased to meet you, both. We'll wait for you in the lobby while you get changed". He informed them and handed them a pile of clothes he picked out from the local store. He knew about these women's ordeal and Maj. Scott demanded that they would get everything they needed.

"Thank you, we appreciate this" She pointed to the clothes. "We'll see you in a minute". She closed the door and went straight to her best friend to pull her put of the bed."Come on, Brookie, we got to go". Brooke went to wash her face while muttering a silent curse. "Hey I heard that". Peyton yelled, while putting her clothes on, as slow as she could, careful not to bother her injuries any further. After Brooke was dressed too, they climbed the single row of stairs and met with the two men.

"Lt, I'm sorry but we have strict orders to find the place where you were kept, before we get you home". Brooke rolled her eyes, she really didn't want to go there again. She looked over at Peyton, who sighted resigned and nodded. Of course Peyton wouldn't say anything, her best friend was a committed officer, who respected the chain of command and followed her superior's orders. Brooke smiled and followed them.

After half an hour, they could spot from the helicopter a thick wave of smoke coming from the woods. As soon as they got near it, the girls could make out the remains of their temporary prison. They knew that the ones who were behind all this, couldn't let anything behind that could be used to trace them. It was Peyton that spoke first.

"Sheriff, you should send some back-up here to put down the fire, before it spreads into the forest." Peyton yelled to cover the noise from the helicopter. He nodded and made the call.

"After that a special team is going to be sent, to search for clues, if they are any."Cpt. Rogers informed "There's nothing we can do right now so, I guess we should head back, they're all waiting for you at home". He was met by two grateful faces.

After dropping the sheriff in Renovo, they headed to NJ. Two hours later, the helicopter finally landed on the helipad on top of the NJSP headquarters, in Trenton. Major Scott was waiting for them, but he wasn't dressed in his usual formal attire. His superiors instructed him to find out all that he could about the girls and what happened in Pennsylvania. Despite that, he wasn't ready to put them through an interrogatory right now, so he suggested his boses, that maybe he would try and find out more in a casual surrounding, away from the cold grey walls of this building.

The girls were happy to see him; he was a good man, rather though at times, but fair and understanding when it came to special situations like this.

"Welcome home" He smiled pleasantly and shook their hands. "Thank you for all Captain, I'll take it from here". Rogers nodded, gathered his team and left.

"Nice to see you sir." Peyton smiled tiredly, followed by a "Mr. Scott…" by Brooke.

"Come on, we have places to be". They took the elevator downstairs and exit the building

"Where are we going sir?"Peyton asked confused when they walked to his car "Don't we have to do the debriefing?"

"We'll do the debriefing, but not here…you deserve better, after everything" He smiled and started his car. The girls were at a loss, but they mentally thanked him. They weren't ready to face a bunch of inconsiderate officers, with nothing better to do than find the mistakes of their actions. Peyton knew the procedure…she did the procedure. These people didn't have any sort of feelings towards the persons interrogated, not even their own colleagues. It was a hard place to work in, but it got the job done at the end of the day. 'No hard feelings' as Peyton putted a few times.

They arrived at Dan's house, located in the Glen Afton neighborhood. They never knew where he lived, but knowing that he was alone here, no wife, no children, no dog, it seemed weird that he was living in a family area. They didn't question him about it, of course. It was a beautiful two-story brick house, built colonial style. They sit down on a brown leather couch, while Dan offered them a drink.

"We appreciate this, sir" Peyton raised her eyes and met his. "We weren't ready to be put through the drill right now."

"That's exactly my thought". Dan drank his scotch and sat on his chair, looking at the ground."Listen, first of all, I want you to know how sorry I am for letting it come down to this. I shouldn't have agreed with it in the first place. Putting a civilian in that kind of danger was…" Dan started but was abruptly interrupted by Brooke.

"That's not fair. I wanted to do this, nobody forced me and you know damn well why I had to do it. It was my choice to be there, and I would do exactly the same if had to." Brooke stood her ground. Peyton watched her friend getting angry, but decided not to say anything. She had to let it out.

"Brooke, it doesn't matter…I should never have put you in this situation."

"Listen, Mr. Scott whether you like it or not, our plan did succeed. We distracted them long enough so that the relocation could take place."

"Maybe, but now it's only getting harder and harder to protect them until the trial. If it were for me, I would move the date of the hearing tomorrow, but the court is hell bent to this it's own way…"

"You know, sir, that even if she testifies the chances that he and his goons would be put in jail are 50-50".Peyton stated even thought it made her sick that such a despicable human being is running loose on the streets.

"I know that lieutenant, but it's much better than no chance at all" Dan got up and looked through the window. "What kills me right now is that somebody at the top is helping him, and we don't have any idea who the hell he is. How come every time we are ready to nail his ass, the evidences against him disappear without a trace? How come they always know what we are going to do, and they are always prepared for it. I swear to God, if I get my hands on that mole I will make sure he doesn't see the light of day ever again" Dan slammed his fist in to the wall, making his knuckles red.

"We'll take them down, I promise." Peyton got up and looked him stoically in the eyes "But to do that, we have to stay calm and think outside the box. We should move the center of this operation somewhere else, away from all the bureaucracy. We will put together a small team, and if after that information is being released behind our backs, than it will be easier to identify him or her."

"You're right, lieutenant. The only thing that remains is to lay this out in front of my superiors. We still need their approval to move this."

"You can convince them, sir. After that we can choose what to say to them". Peyton suggested.

"We can't lie, Sawyer. We can get in a lot of trouble for that."

"We won't lie sir, we'll just manipulate the information in our advantage…that's it if we are able to find something." Peyton sighted. "It's like they vanish every clue we can use to bust them. If we go in and arrest them again, their time in jail will be even shorter than last time."

"I guess we could try that. God knows we've tried everything else. But I want you to know I'm not happy with this idea." Dan stood quiet for a second, but decided to go ahead and finish this. "Look girls, I know we didn't do this at the station, but we have get it over with, so I can please my superiors. Can you tell what happened back there?"Before answering him, Peyton thought of the last 2 weeks and everything that has preceded that dreadful day when everything went haywire.

Flashback:

_It was 9:30 a.m. Peyton stood in her car, watching every vehicle that passed by, thinking that she was lucky enough to be in command of this after everything. In the beginning, Captain Leo Marshall was put in charge of the operation by superintended George Anderson, but after an unfortunate incident that took place at a local drug store, Marshall was shot 2 times, barely making it out alive._

_Dan suggested Anderson to give Peyton a chance to do this, even though her personal connection to the witnesses was an impediment. Peyton proved time and time again that she was damn fine officer, and if told so, she was willing to put her own feelings aside to get the job done. Anderson thought kindly of Peyton so he decided to give her a chance._

_They were creating a distraction. The family they were protecting was to be moved to another safe house, after an attempt on their lives was made two days ago. Peyton was lucky enough to be there when it happened and managed to chase away the three men that came to the house posing as gas company workers. She instantly sensed danger because, first of all this was a safe house, and every visit was planned ahead, so when they came, Peyton told them to follow her to the basement, where the pipes were located. On the way she pressed the emergency button on the phone, waiting for the officers who were watching the house to come over. _

_One of the guys decided to make a move and attack Peyton but she was ready for it, she drew her gun and shot him in the leg. The other two took their guns and started shooting too, she jumped over the counter and landed on the kitchen tiles, continuing to shoot at them. One of the bullets scratched her arm, but with the adrenaline rushing through her veins she didn't feel anything. She managed to hit another one in the stomach, when she heard the door opening hastily. When the four officers entered the house with their guns prepared, the shooting had stopped. They looked around the house and saw blood on the living room carpet. A body was lying there bleeding from his abdomen. In a few minutes he was dead, before they had a chance to ask him anything._

_The other two escaped through the back, and jumped in a black sedan that was waiting for them. They speed away before the cops had any chance to catch them._

_Peyton got up and went upstairs to check on the family. As expected she found them in the panic room, a safe place designed especially for situations like this. After she told Dan was happened they decided to move them to another location as soon as possible. They worked for two days and two nights to put together a plan._

_On the second day, Brooke Davis came into the HQ with a proposition._

"_Look, I don't want to tell you how to do your jobs, but I am well aware that the strategies that were conceived to protect my sister and her son have been failing one by one. I say we try a different route…" Brooke looked around and she was met by skeptic faces. These were proud people, and for a civilian to suggest a plan didn't stood very well with them._

"_What are you saying Brooke?" Peyton looked up from the papers and eyed her best friend._

"_I'm saying that I'm willing to pose as my sister in order to create a distraction" Brooke blurted out._

"_No chance in hell" Dan firmly stated._

"_Why not? I mean, you can protect me, right, should anything wrong were to happen…" Brooke was determined to go through with this. She was feeling guilty, and this was the only way she could try and make amends with her sister, whom she hasn't seen in almost 10 years._

"_I am not putting you in jeopardy. I would never forgive myself if anything were to go wrong, Brooke" Peyton agreed with her boss, they couldn't do that, but when she noticed her best friend's determination, she realized how much this meant to her._

"_It's the best chance you've got, and you know it, you're just too damn stubborn to accept it"_

"_I am not arguing with you, Ms. Davis, so just drop it" Dan instructed her. She had a point, but he wasn't willing to put a civilian in that kind of peril._

"_Ok, let's do this some other way. What if we ask her if she agrees with this, after all it's her life we are trying to protect, isn't it" Brooke tried a different approach._

"_She' right. It is my life and I accept your proposal" A sudden voice echoed through the room. Everybody turned and saw Haley James in the doorway, holding her son in her arms, looking dead serious at them._

"_It's not your decision, Ms. James."Dan sighted._

"_Like hell it isn't. If she wants to do it, than let her do it. God knows how much I suffered because of her, I guess it's time to repent yourself, right Brooke?" Haley didn't falter, and looked her sister straight in the eyes, while holding her son to her chest. Brooke looked down, and didn't dare to say anything. _

"_Haley, how long are you going to come up with this nonsense? It isn't Brooke's fault what happened long time ago, so would you stop blaming her already?" Peyton defendant her best friend, but Haley was a good friend too, she didn't want to pick sides, but Haley was being irrational._

"_I'm sorry Peyton but it's my decision to make, and if she wants to do this, than she'll do this. This guy over here…" she nodded to her son "means everything to me, and I will agree to anything, if that means keeping him safe". Haley turned and walked out of the room. Dan shook his head, and made the call. Brooke was in, all that remained was to make sure she would be fine after all this is over…_

**The flashback will continue in the next chapter, when they'll tell reveal what happened to them. Also, new information from the characters past will be divulged, so stay tuned. :D**

**Take care, guys.**


	4. Making it up as I go

Disclaimer: As always I do NOT own One Tree Hill or its characters. This is just for fun.

Hi, guys. I'm back! I haven't updated in 2 weeks, because of the Easter Holidays, but now I hope to post a new chapter besides this one by the end of the week.

Here we go, the whole chapter is a flashback. There will be more to come, because I have a lot of twists that I want to add to this story, and a lot of them start in the past. So, read and tell me what you think. ;)

Chapter 4-Making it up as I go

Flashback:

"_This is crazy!" Peyton exclaimed while Brooke was choosing the perfect brown wig for their charade _

"_It's not crazy, they're my family and I have to do this" Brooke replied forcefully._

"_We both know why you're going through with this…" Peyton trailed. "It's your damn guilt complex. " Brooke scoffed._

"_Is that what you think?"_

"_That's the truth, you feel so guilty that you couldn't protect her in the first place and now you're trying to do everything at once, even though Haley is hell bent on not accepting you back in her life." Peyton knew she had crossed a line, but she would do everything in her power to make sure Brooke was safe. _

_Brooke turned around and left the store, leaving Peyton at a standstill. When she finally came out from her trance, she ran after Brooke, catching her wrist. "Listen, I'm sorry, ok? That was out of line, but try putting yourself in my position. This is a very risky operation and what if something goes wrong, what if I won't be able to guarantee your well being?" Peyton pleaded, and Brooke turned to face her best friend._

"_You can't always protect me, P. You did that all my life, and I think it's time you go out on a limb and accept my decision. I know it could be dangerous, but I have to do it, for them". Brooke closed her eyes, trying to stop her tears from coming, but the memories were so vivid. "You weren't there when I took her in my arms after that night, or when she looked me in the eyes begging me to stop them from taking her away. I couldn't do a damn thing…I watched her disappear with those people, and what is even worse is that after a few times that I tried to contact her and she wouldn't budge, I gave up. I thought she was fine, I thought she was happy with her new family and I was just a thing of the past. I never knew how much she needed me, and I stopped trying. I left her there to be traumatized. "Brooke clenched her fists and let her tears fall. _

"_Brooke, hey listen to me" Peyton cupped her best friend's face and spoke softly to her "What happened that horrible night wasn't your fault. You should be happy you two survived. Furthermore, at the orphanage you couldn't do a damn thing, that family wanted her, and just her. You thought she was given a second chance in life, and you let her go, which was a darn brave thing for you to do. You couldn't have known what kind of people they were, everybody vouched for them, they were going to love her and take care of her like your real parents." Peyton started this and she knew she had to finish it. "Before your parents died that night you told me you felt something was going to go very bad, and you tried to warn them , to take you and just leave for a while, but they thought it was just in their little girl's head. If it weren't for you Haley wouldn't be alive right now" Peyton finished "But that she forgets."_

"_I tried so hard Peyton, I knew that the happiness we were feeling all those years ago must end someday. I hoped and prayed that moment wouldn't come so soon. I mean for God's sake we were little kids. No one should be left parentless at that age" Brooke screamed in frustration. Peyton looked away, not wanting to argue with her friend, but at least Brooke knew her parents and they were some extraordinary people, who loved her daughters very much. In her case, her mother died at birth and her father never recovered, he was an angry man, with a rage that would be directed to her so many times, until the night he drank himself into oblivion and committed suicide. Ever since she was 5 she was put in an orphanage, and she only got out when she was 18, never being adopted._

"_Listen to me, if this is what you want, then I won't stop you, but that doesn't mean I won't watch you like a hawk. Is that clear?" Peyton asked seriously._

_Brooke smiled and engulfed Peyton in a hug "Yeah, I wouldn't want it any other way"._

"_Let's do this, then"._

_14 hours later…_

"_Lieutenant, is everyone ready?" Dan asked through his station._

"_Everyone's in position, sir" Peyton responded shifting her position in the car seat "We're waiting for you signal". The plan was in place, Haley and her son were going to wait in the house, while Brooke who was holding a doll dressed as a boy was going to make her way through the front door. She was wearing a brown wig and big black shades. The sisters were the same height so that wasn't a problem. Peyton climbed out of her car and went to talk to Staff Sgt. O'Malley about the specific route they were going to take..._

"_M'am we are on positions and ready to go" O'Malley instructed._

"_Very good Sgt." Peyton than communicated to Dan, who gave the order to start the operation. "O'Malley you have a go" Peyton ordered as she made her way back to the car. Four officers were surrounding Brooke who came out of the house and entered the black SUV. Three more cars followed them. Peyton was alone in her car and was leading the way. _

_Haley waited until all the cars had left, took her son and told the officer that he needed to go to the bathroom. They gave her a questioning look and 2 of them went with her._

"_You know, it will be nice if I can go to the God damn bathroom without being watched every time" Haley said frustrated. "I'm sorry m'am but we have strict orders to not let you out of our sight. Haley rolled her eyes and chose not to say anything anymore. After she closed the door to the bathroom, she let the water running while she opened the window._

"_What are you doing, mom?" A 4 year old Jamie asked innocently._

"_Shh, we are going on a trip" Haley whispered while she took the bags she had hidden previously, from the back of the sink._

"_Where? Are we going to get in trouble?" Jamie watched as his mother hastily picked the few baggages._

"_No baby, but I need you to be quiet, uncle Lucas is gonna take us somewhere. He is waiting for us outside." Haley informed her son while she threw the bags out the window._

"_Miss James, are you ok in there?" one of the officers asked her, they were getting suspicious._

"_Just a second, for cryin' out loud" Haley yelled._

_Haley climbed onto the toilet and then out the window, she told Jamie to do the same, and after she caught him in her arms, she took the bags and made a run for it. After 200 m they spotted a red Mustang on the side of the road. She quickly climbed in the back seat with her son._

"_Drive Luke. Go!" She stopped to catch her breath while Lucas stepped on the gas."Uncle Lucas" Jamie exclaimed and hugged him._

"_Hey buddy." He kissed him on the top of the head "Haley, you know I love you, but this is insane. These people are doing the impossible protect you and you choose to run away." Luke frowned and gripped the wheel even harder._

"_Protect me? Yeah Lucas, they're doing a dandy job at it. Not only those bastards found out where I was 3 times, but the damn police aren't doing a damn thing to put them in jail. They knew very well who is behind this."_

"_Hales, everytime they arrest them, they always find a way out, it's not the police's fault that he has people in high places. They're doing everything they can… This is insane" Luke said again and sighted. "You know they probably found out by now that you ran, and thought the worst."_

"_Let them think what they want. I know I'll be safe with you…" Haley began, when Luke's phone started ringing. He looked at it and answered._

"_Hey, son. Can you please stop the car?" Dan smirked into the phone. He knew his son and Haley were really close and a good cop goes through every scenario. Of course, Dan put a tracking device on Lucas' car, and now a police car was closely on their trail. Luke looked in the rearview mirror and closed his eyes. On one hand he was angry that he was followed, but on the other he knew that despite Haley's arguments, they were safe with the police. Haley looked behind and growled. 'Dammit, I'm never gonna get out of this' she thought._

_Lucas pulled the car over and Dan got up from the other car meeting his son halfway._

"_That was stupid" Dan said deadpanned "What the hell were you thinking?"_

"_Look dad…"_

"_Oh it's dad now, isn't it. How come it's dad only when you do something like this?" He pointed to the car._

"_Haley's my friend, and she almost lost her life and her son's too 3 times now, under your supervision" Lucas looked him in the eyes, waiting for a reply._

_Dan didn't flinch, he knew that at some level his son was right but he was a stubborn man, and he couldn't give up that easily._

"_Listen son, you cannot do this. Miss James is safe with us, and this pathetic attempt of rescue could have only put her in even more trouble. How well did you think this through? What if you had been followed, and not by us, but by the wrong people?" Dan paused watching his son hung his head. _

_Haley took Jamie and walked out of the Mustang."Dan…"She spoke as she passed by him, head held high not sharing a look._

"_Haley" He smiled and shook his head "You are a piece of work"._

"_Thank you very much. I try hard" Haley said sarcastically as she climbed into the police car._

_Dan's station began to transmit."Sir, this is Lt. Sawyer, we are under heavy fire! We need back up now" Peyton shouted from her position behind her car. She could see the SUV in the back and made a run for it, dodging bullets left and right. They were near a thick forest when they were attacked. Even with all the preparation and the squad cars, they couldn't have foreseen the small enemy army, heavily armed that emerged from the forest. _

"_Copy that, lieutenant" Dan turned on another frequency to alert the remaining troops to head for Peyton's position. "This is Major Dan Scoot, I want all cars available on Philly's Road! Our people are under heavy fire."_

"_Major, this is Colonel John Riley, I'm afraid we cannot grant you that request. There has been a terrible accident downtown. A tank trunk filled with gasoline went straight into the Memorial Hospital, smaller accidents occurred and the left wing of the building is on fire We need all the help we can get. I'm sorry but your men have to make it through on their own."_

"_Roger that, sir. Keep me apprised with the news. I have to complete the relocation and after that we will join you." Dan assured his superiors. Now what? He thought. They were miles away from the ambush, and Haley needed to be taken into the new safe house right away. Dan made his decision, even though it wasn't one he was willing to make._

"_Sawyer, I'm sorry to tell you this, but back-up won't be arriving soon. Stay strong as long as you can. God be with you…" Dan closed his eyes, waiting for the hateful message that was to come, but one didn't came through._

"_I understand, sir. We already have 6 casualties. I don't know how longer we can keep them at bay. We'll try our best. Over and out." Peyton sighted and turned off her station. Enough talking, if was time to fight. She recharged her Beretta and continued to aim for the men that were trying to get close to the van. Various police officers were scattered around the road, some injured, some dead. From the looks of it, they were heavily outnumbered and they only managed to kill 7 or 8 bad guys. Peyton had her back pinned to the SUV doors. Her arm has been grazed by one of the bullets, but it wasn't anything serious. _

_She opened the doors to check on Brooke."Hey, it's going to be ok, you hear me. Just stay there" Brooke was beyond scared, but she looked Peyton in the eyes and nodded. As Peyton was closing the doors, the firing subsided, and she heard a distinct click of 4 different guns, all aimed at her. She was breathing heavily when she felt a powerful blow to the head. She collapsed on the ground, as she heard Brooke's screams. She tried to get up but only to be ht a second time with some sort of a crowbar. She tried to keep her eyes open but her adrenaline started to run off._

_She watched as 3 men, were pulling Brooke out of the car, and she made one last attempt to free her friend. She gathered all the strength she could muster and she rose to her feet tackling one of the guys, and punching him repeatedly._

"_One last move and she dies!" One of them was pressing his gun in Brooke's head, and after hearing her friend's small whimpers Peyton finally gave up. Peyton had a million thought running through her mind, what was going to happen to Brooke if she died, why had all the shooting stopped and so on. _

"_Get up!" One of the growled "You're coming with us" Peyton rose to her feet with some difficulty and was pushed along with Brooke in the trunk of a car. After they locked them in, the car started at an alarming speed. The smell of gas was surrounding them, and they coughed several times. Neither of them said anything for about half an hour. The smell got worse and it seemed like the car wasn't going to stop anytime soon._

_The driver suddenly had an epiphany."Wasn't she supposed to have a son?" He mentally kicked himself. What if they got the wrong gir? That would earn them some quality time with the firing squad…_

"_Dammit, this is bad, this is very bad…"Brooke said, while turning her face to Peyton, who didn't flinch and remained on her back, breathing uneven. "Peyton look at me!" Brooke demanded, knowing that right now her best friend was blaming herself for their capture. When nothing happened, she tried again "Listen, this is not your fault, you didn't put us in here, those bastards were better prepared than we were. There was nothing you could have done" She spoke softly while taking Peyton's hand in her own._

"_I should have never agreed to this" Peyton said for the first time. _

"_It's going to be ok, you hear me. At least they're safe for now, that's all that matters." Brooke closed her eyes. "As for us, we'll figure something out…we always do". Just then the vehicle stopped._

"_I think we got in way over our heads."_

"_You got that, right" A tall, muscular man look at them and then at his friends. "Who the hell are these women?"_

"_Mitch, that's the James chick and the other one is a cop, we figured we could use some more leverage in the near future."_

"_You've got to be kidding me, not only did you take the wrong girl, because THAT is not Haley James, but you also kidnapped a cop" Mitch cursed a few times and then kicked the car "Get out!" He shouted at them. Brooke looked frightened at Peyton, who casually got up from the trunk.' Why the hell is she so calm?' Brooke thought. Just in that moment, Peyton made her move as she kicked Mitch in the groin grabbing his side arm. She pushed Brooke behind her and threatened them. It was hopeless, as 8 more came from behind them._

_One took Brooke and shoved her to the ground, forcing her to kneel. Peyton pulled the trigger on 2 of them, injuring them, but there was nothing more she could do. Three guys jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. She felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth as several punches landed on her face. _

"_Who the fuck is this?" A bald man asked her, while pointing at Brooke. Peyton smiled._

"_It's not so fun knowing that you've screwed up, isn't it?" She added._

"_SHUT UP!" He kicked her in the stomach and got up. He made his way to Brooke, pulling the brown wig and throwing it away as far as he could. "Where the hell is the real Haley James?" He demanded. When Brooke didn't respond he took his gun and hit her with the handel._

"_Like you wouldn't want to know…" She murmured. "It's over buddy, she's safe. The trial is coming and there is nothing you and your men can do about it. You're toast!" Brooke smiled triumphantly. _

"_You bitch!" He took her by her hair and punched her 4 times. As she fell down again she hit the rear end of the car. She couldn't make sense of what was happening around her, while she slowly blacked out._

"_Brooke!" Peyton shouted and tried to get up to help her friend. She was stopped by one of them, by pointing a pistol at her head._

"_That's enough!" Mitch shouted "Tie them up and lock them in the basement. We have to contact our boss, inform him of this mess. We'll deal with them later"_

_After they were left alone in the cold room, Peyton turned to her friend and tried to wake her up. She couldn't see any signs of blood from where she hit her head, but she wasn't coming around either. Peyton sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. _

_She couldn't calculated the exact time of their imprisonment, but she thought that 1 hour had passed, before the door opened and Mitch grabbed and took her outside. _

"_What's your name?" She asked looking her straight in the eyes. _

"_Go To Hell!" She earned herself another kick in the stomach. She coughed violently, but smirked "What ? I think it's a lovely name". This only infuriated him further, as he released all his rage on her ribs. Peyton saw the small knife that was strapped to his leg, and knew she had to get it somehow. She managed to stand on her knees with grave difficulty and after spitting blood she tried a different approach. "Look, you know I won't tell you a thing about Haley, so you should just kill me right now". HE grabbed her by the chin causing her to flinch._

"_Oh, no honey, it's not gonna be that easy. You're our best chance we have right now to put our hands on that James bitch." Just then Peyton launched herself into him, knocking him over, and even though her hands were tied up, in one swift move she managed to slip the knife into her back pocket, while Mitch retrieve himself from the shock._

"_You don't give up, do you?" He tried to hit her again, but she was faster. She kicked him in the knee, with all her force and the in the face several times, until she felt her foot being grabbed and he threw her on the ground. She was done for now, so she couldn't do a thing against the rush of blows coming from him. He only stopped when another one came and pulled him away._

_She didn't have the force to walk on her own so, the other guy dragged her in the basement, where she stared at the ceiling, hoping they would get a chance to escape. She wouldn't let them hurt Brooke that way. They would get out …soon._

That was it, the stuff that happened before the first chapter. Take care, guys. Have a great week!_  
><em>


	5. Anticipate the unexpected

Disclaimer: I still do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

_Sorry guys, this took a little more time than I imagined. I told you before that sometimes I am not happy with what I conceive, and the 'delete' button was hit a lot._

_Anyway, here's chapter 5. Enjoy!_

Chapter 5- Expect the unexpected

Present time - Dan's place

"That's everything 'til the point we escaped, sir" Peyton shifted uncomfortably on her chair.

"And how did you escape exactly?" Dan inquired.

"We look a leap of faith. When the opportunity arose we made our move" Brooke added, growing tired of all this. "Look, I want to see my sister". She demanded.

"I don't know if we can arrange that…"

"Why not? Have I not been cleared enough for that security level?"

"It's not that Brooke, it's just… I don't think she'll want to see you" Dan softly spoke and Brooke scoffed."By the way, she tried to run that day."

"What do you mean run? Where?" Brooke raised her eyebrow.

"We don't know where, but Luke was going to help them. Luckily we caught them just in time."

"I'm not surprised. Lucas has always been her lap dog, more than her best friend" Brooke angrily sighted. "Ever since Nathan…" She closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"Don't go there, please" Dan begged "Not now."

Peyton sat quietly while the two finished their arguments. They haven't slept since that hotel room, and she desperately wanted to go home and crash for a month. Sweet dreams? Right... Tomorrow morning she will be ordered to report to the station. New Jersey was a crazy state. The state police was working like mad to maintain order. She never thought she will end up here, but life took her by the hand and pointed her in that direction. Well life and….Dan.

After he was asked to take a lead position there, he proposed to her to come with him. She was his best officer back in Tree Hill, and she deserved a fresh start, away from her glooming past.

"Look I know you're both tired so I'll drop you off at your apartment. You can hand in your statements at the station whenever you can, until then I'll give my preliminary report to my superiors. They'll understand."

"Thank you, sir. We appreciate this" She looked over at Brooke who nodded along.

"No problem. By the way, how are feeling?" he pointed to her bandaged area.

"I'm fine, sir" She strongly said.

"That's what I thought" He chuckled slightly and nodded disapprovingly. "Come on, let's go."

Peyton put the key into the lock and turned it, in front of her were the remains of a trashed apartment. She drew her gun and motioned to Brooke to stay behind her. She quietly made her way into the bedroom, searching for any signs that the invaders might still be in there. She checked every corner of the place, but she couldn't find anyone.

"Shit, shit, shit" Brooke cursed "They found your apartment. That's just freaking great!" She threw her hands in the air and went for the half bottle of Jack Daniels laying on the kitchen floor. She gulped a few large drinks, while Peyton chuckled. "What's so funny? In case you haven't noticed we are the living commercial for life threatening situations and near death misses."

"You said it, sister" Peyton spoke while turning a fallen chair and plumping into it "Can I have some of that?" She eyed the bottle.

Brooke looked at her with a 'what the fuck' expression on her face "Are you crazy?"

"Nope, just thirsty and I heard that water rusts the body" She grinned. "Give it."

Brooke shook her head and gave the bottle to her best friend, who didn't spare any time engulfing it. "Slow down there, sailor."

"Now, this is what I call the drink of the Gods" She put the bottle away and placed her feet on the turned table in front of her.

"Listen, your "hakuna matata" attitude is starting to scare me. What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

"I'm kinda' sleepy, so if you don't mind I think I'll get some shut eye. You should do the same." Brooke looked around, the couch was turned on the side, while the rest of the little furniture Peyton had was broken into pieces. Peyton got up and pushed the sofa back in her original position. "You can sleep here, and I'll crash on my chair" She said grudgingly while taking two blankets, one giving it to Brooke and one for herself. She sank into the chair and closed her eyes.

Brooke looked at Peyton and didn't know what to think. Maybe the stress was at fault, or maybe her friend went completely kookoo. "How can you be so sure they won't come back?"

"They won't" She said casually.

"Again, how can you be so sure? We're sitting ducks out here" Brooke raised her voice in frustration.

"Brooke, just go to sleep, please. Nobody is gonna come back, they did what they came here to do, and that was sending a message. We got the message and we are going to return it, but right now I just need some rest, ok? Is that too much to ask?" Peyton was growing impatient with Brooke's insecurities. "If it makes you feel any better, come on let's put some stuff against the door, since the lock is broken" She got up with some difficulty and made her way to a fallen closet and pushed it against the door. Brooke sighted and followed her into her actions.

"We shouldn't at least report it?" Brooke asked while picking a broken chair.

"We'll do that….tomorrow, ok? Do you really want to go through another round of questions and wasted time at the station right now?" Peyton reasoned. Brooke was tired and she didn't wasn't to return to giving statements and waiting until the police assured them they'll be fine.

"If something happens this night, I will kick your ass to Lapland and back, is that clear?

"Yes ma'am, and if I were to go there you should give me your list for Christmas. I will make sure Santa gets it personally." Peyton shook her head and smiled while getting a hit in the arm by a scolding Brooke.

"You should sleep on the couch, you're still hurting, P." She said worried.

"Nope, I like my chair, and you are a guest in my house so you get the ripped and smelly couch" She laughed slightly. "Dow you have to question everything I say, now Brooke? Just go with it" Peyton covered herself with the blanket and made herself as comfortable as she could get in the chair. Brooke knew she couldn't win this so she plunged onto the couch and in 10 minutes she was asleep. Peyton still couldn't shut her eyes. She looked at the figure sleeping soundly on her couch and smiled. They've been through so much ever since they were kids, and they grew even more closer with each experience

Flashback:

"_What are you doing there?" A 9 year old Brooke looked up at the top of a large tree that was sitting in the backyard of the orphanage. She eyed a skinny blonde figure observing the whole yard and the road that could be spotted behind the fence._

"_Just looking…" Peyton didn't made eye contact with the girl and continued to squint her eyes as if she was thinking hard at something._

"_For birds?" Brooke asked innocently._

"_No, not for birds" Peyton smiled happily "For something else."_

"_I'm Brooke" She shouted all of a sudden from the ground. Peyton stopped her inquiry and looked down. She had seen this girl before. She knew she had a sister, and they were both brought here a little over 3 months now, by her calculations. They've never spoken before, mostly because, normally Peyton was a loner, she wasn't shy, just not interested in making friends. She figured it was better by herself, that it was easier not to care or to drag anyone else into her pathetic existence…But then again they were all pathetic in here so she decided it would be rude to ignore the bubbly brunette._

"_Peyton…" She dragged, still not looking at the ground._

"_You don't speak much, do you?"Brooke twitched her nose, she was rather intrigued by this new person she found at the top of the tree._

"_Why bother? You shouldn't speak if you don't have anything interesting to say, right?"_

"_And what if you do?"_

"_Well, then I guess it's my loss" Peyton said unfazed._

"_You don't seem too disturbed about it." Brooke squinted because the sun was bothering her eyes. Peyton finally looked at her, wondering why she was still there dragging information. She turned her look away again. "You still haven't told me what you are looking for."_

"_Why would I?"_

"_I don't know…the need of sharing a secret, maybe?" Brooke grinned mischievously._

"_I don't want to share my secrets."_

"_I won't tell, I promise" Brooke crossed her fingers in front of her in a futile gesture to find out what was the blonde planning. Just then Peyton started climbing down. When she reached the ground she eyed the brunette from head to toe._

"_I'm going to get out of here" She stated bluntly._

"_What?" Brooke said surprised "How? Or better, can you take us with you?" She smiled hopefully._

"_We, as in you and your sister." Peyton stated deadpanned_

"_I knew you knew us." _

"_Yeah well, I know every newbie that comes around here, I watch every one that goes away. You get used to it." Peyton shrugged. Just then a small voice was reasoning through the yard._

"_Get off me!" Brooke could hear her sister and instantly started sprinting towards the noise. Peyton hesitated for a second, but followed her. At the playground Brooke could see two boys pinning her sister down, yelling at her for something._

"_Leave her alone, now" Brooke shouted at the guys. They turned to look at a raging Brooke coming at full speed towards them. One of them grabbed her by her hands before she could make any damage. Haley was still crying on the ground, when Peyton came and kicked one of them in the back of his knee. He released the grip he had on Brooke and yelled in pain. The other one lunched for Peyton but she ducked and pushed him into the swing, falling over them._

"_I swear to God, Mike if you're going to touch any of them again I will make your life here a living hell. It would seem strange for these words to come out of a 10 year old's mouth but this wasn't ordinary life. This wasn't a family feud or a fight between friends. They were all kids, but they were all unwanted kids, put into orphanages because nobody cared for them, because didn't have a mother to calm them and tell them that everything will be alright or a father who teach them what is right or wrong and who would protect them._

_They were angry kids, and they didn't care about anything anymore, they just needed to install fear between others, because only like that they could feel respected, if not by love, than by fright, as the only solution._

_Mike scoffed, got up and picked his friend from the swings "This is not over, you will learn who is in charge here" He said pointing at Haley, who was clutching her hand protectively, a few tears escaping down her cheek._

_Brooke watched as the scene played in front of her and rushed to her sister's side, taking her into her arms. When Peyton saw the boys disappear around the corner, she left out a shaky breath. She didn't want do that again, now it will only put here on the radar again, she couldn't be the loner, an image she was desperately trying to build. "Is she alright?" She asked Brooke who was still hugging Haley tightly._

"_Brooke you're hurting me" Haley chocked out a painful sob._

"_I'm so sorry, baby, I'm so sorry. Where is it hurting?" Brooke asked carefully._

"_My arm…it hurts, sis" Haley let out a few tears of pain as she dug her head into Brooke's chest once again._

"_Come on, we'll take her to the nurse" Peyton reached out her hand for Haley to grab it, but she flinched and covered behind Brooke. Peyton withdrew her hand, and close her eyes, not saying anything._

"_It's okay, honey. She won't hurt you, she's a….." Brooke searched Peyton's sorrowed face painfully, then added "…friend". _

"_But Brooke, did you see how she beat up those guys?" Haley asked tentatively. _

"_She won't hurt you, I promise." Brooke looked up and mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to Peyton who understood and walked away. Brooke picked her little sister of the ground and took her to the nurse to get checked. She was feeling guilty that she was leaving Peyton behind after chasing her sister's attackers away, but right now she needed to assure Haley that she was safe, and only a drop of doubt was enough to send her over the edge again. _

_After she was checked, the doctor decided that her left wrist was broken, she put a cast on it and allowed her to sleep the night in the room. After Haley fell asleep, Brooke got up and started looking for Peyton, she asked around the remaining kids who weren't asleep but nobody saw her. She then made her way into the back yard, it was dark but the light of the moon made it easier to navigate outside._

"_You know, if you keep staying there, people are gonna talk" Brooke smiled as she was standing in the same position as earlier today, looking up that tree._

"_Let them say what they want to say…I was terrified of heights you know, but one day I just looked at this tree and said to myself it was the only way to see more, and I wanted to find what was outside all of….this" She pointed with her hand at the building and it surroundings. "So, I guess my want for freedom was more than my fear, and ultimately conquered it."_

"_Why did you say all that to me?"Brooke sat on the ground and hung her head._

"_Because you were the only person who wasn't afraid to talk to me. Everybody else thinks I'm a lunatic, a crazy kid hell bent on hitting droving everyone away." Brooke raised her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't look at me like that, I'm sure you heard all the marvelous rumors about me. How I am so bad that I even hit teachers and my favourite one, biting a dog " Peyton laughed nervously "I'm 10. How can I do all that?" The laughed subsided and she closed her eyes._

"_How can you be bad, when you saved my little sister? Brooke whispered and allowed a few tears to form in her eyes. "Since our parents died, I took it upon myself to protect her until we are old, and now I failed her completely. She got hurt because I wasn't there for her" Brooke buried her head in her hands. After a few seconds she felt a hand on her back. When she raised her eyes she spotted Peyton who was properly arranging herself in a comfortable position on the ground. _

"_She got hurt, because there are people on this world who want nothing more than to cause pain….people led by a false sense of authority. Don't blame yourself for somebody else's wrong doings, it will eat you alive." Peyton sighted and looked Brooke in the eyes._

"_Thank you…for what you did today" Brooke smiled gratefully "I could never make it up to you"_

"_You already did…" Peyton looked away. Brooke was at a loss for a moment. "You made me your ….friend, remember?" Brooke thought at the previous moment when she said that to Haley. Peyton was a friend. Brooke chuckled._

"_You sure don't need much, do you?"_

"_Nope, I'm keeping it simple" Peyton laughed along with her. "Is Haley going to be alright?"_

"_Yeah, I think so, her wrist was broken, but she'll be fine."_

"_That's good. Come on, let's go inside before somebody catches us here" Brooke furrowed her brows, it wasn't that late. "Believe me, you don't want to know" Peyton grabbed her hand and they went in the building. It was the day a new friendship was born, one that was about to be put to test more than once, but one that never crumbled down._

Present day

It was 6:02 a.m. 'How can I be awake at this ungodly hour?' Brooke thought. She rubbed her eyes and tiredly made her way into the bathroom, careful not to hit any pieces of furniture on the way. She let the water running for a while, because of its brown color, and waited until it cleared. She looked at herself in the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes continued to remain there, so she applied some light make-up and went to see it there was anything to make coffee from.

She found the pot behind the sink, and the coffee somewhere near turned trash can. Luckily it was a new package so she prepared a large pot of the black potion.

"Now this is what I call the perfect odor" Peyton said while groaning and smelling her way into the kitchen, half asleep.

"You look like a bear, who found chocolate" Brooke smiled

"If bears eat chocolate they die, genius" Peyton dragged herself to the cup Brooke poured for her and instantly gulped the liquid.

"What are you now, a bear expert?" Brooke teased playfully.

"I say what I hear, my dear friend".

"Aha…right" Brooke rolled her eyes. "How did you sleep?".

"Well, I closed my eyes and fell into a naturally recurring state which was characterized by reduced or absent consciousness." Peyton grinned sarcastically and went to the kitchen window, on the way she kicked involuntarily a frying pan with her bare foot, causing a surge of pain to climb up her leg. "Son of a bitch! Stupid, idiotic thing!" She grabbed the pan and threw it in the other room with all her force.

"That's a lot better, I might say" Brooke approved trying to be serious, but a few giggles escaped.

"How is this funny?" Peyton threw her an angry glare.

"I bet ten bucks that you'll hit it again in the other room. This is what you get for being so sarcastic this early in the morning. The Gods have turned on you, my friend" She grinned triumphantly. Peyton squinted her eyes and threw a spatula at Brooke, but she ducked in the last moment. "Hey, no throwing off stuff at your best friend" She warned.

"Oh yeah?" Peyton grinned and opened the door to her fridge taking the ketchup out of it "How about this?" She opened the cap and squeezed the bottle until the red pasta landed on Brooke.

"I can't believe you just did that" She warned and turned on the water, putting her hand under the stream and redirecting it to Peyton. Just then the water stopped running "Uh oh" She ran towards the bathroom and took a bottle of shampoo from the floor and immediately the war began both of them ducking and shooting at each other with ketchup and shampoo.

"Ok, ok…I give up. I'm out of ammo" Peyton raised one hand from behind the couch.

"Ha, you surrendered . I made the all mighty Peyton Sawyer surrender…I'm good at this" Brooke emerged from behind the closet, smiling from ear to ear.

"Shut up, will ya'" Peyton rolled her eyes and sat on the couch. Brooke immediately followed. They were both catching their breaths

"Your place is a mess" Brooke stated all of a sudden.

"Really? I think it looks exactly the same as it did a week ago" She laughed.

"No honey, last week was worse, now it's better, a little more color I might say". They both erupted in a fit of laughter, disturbed only by the buzzing of a phone. Peyton grabbed it and made her way to the window. It was still dark and it started to pour lightly_**. **_New Jersey was without a doubt a big and crowded state, but if you looked closely you could definitely be amazed by its grandeur. A grandeur that held a certain beauty closely enhanced in it.

The phone continued buzzing, and Peyton knew their little escape from the real world was over. Just like the multicolor rain drops that were falling from the sky and seemed peaceful, calming, glorious…

"Sawyer" She introduced herself as always.

"Lt. we have an emergency, I'm sorry if I woke you up, but you are needed at the station right away. I'll arrange for a car to come pick you." Dan ranted on the phone, his voice filled with worry.

"Yes sir, we'll be right there" She closed her phone and closed her eyes.

…despite its beauty, in the end… it was still rain…and it was cold.

_That was for now. I hope you liked it and leave some words, tell me what you think._

_Have a great week, guys. Take care;) _


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